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Casting the Runes
A petty thief steals a pouch of runes from the Metropolitan Museum, and it soon becomes clear that anyone who touches one of the cursed stones will become a slave to a self-proclaimed god. The Extreme Ghostbusters must find a way to save the victims when Eduardo becomes one of the demon's chosen slaves. Cast Steve Rifkin Guard Bobby Messenger of Kahlil Slimer Eduardo Rivera Roland Jackson Garrett Miller Kylie Griffin Egon Spengler Bruno the Pawn Broker Mr. Hammer Kahlil Janine Melnitz Equipment Galileo and his Studies of Medieval Poltergeist P.K.E. Meter Ecto-1 Proton Pack Particle Thrower Proton Cannister Proton Pistol Trap Pagan Rituals & Ceremonies Magic of the Runes Items Runes of Kahlil Locations Metropolitan Museum of Art Firehouse Bruno's Pawn Shop Kahlil's Dimension Rifkin's Apartment Plot In the evening, a man broke into the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. As he entered through a window, perimeter cameras recorded everything. He made his way through a Celtic Art exhibit and was spooked by a strange statue. He found the display he was looking for and started to pick its lock but two guards looked around. The man hid from them then made a run of it. He bumped his forehead right into the statue. In anger, he grabbed the statue's staff. The statue cackled and one of the smaller statues holding up the main one opened its mouth. A pouch slid out. The man picked up the pouch and a rune slipped out. The two guards cornered the man. Bobby, one the guards, picked up the rune. Suddenly a portal opened up and a demon came through it. The demon breathed fire and scorched some displays then grabbed Bobby. The portal closed, the thief ran away, and the lone guard dropped to his knees in shock. In the rec room, the Extreme Ghostbusters enjoyed some off-duty time. Kylie read through a stack of books while Eduardo challenged Slimer to a game of chess. Garrett and Roland watched in anticipation. Slimer won. Without saying anything, Eduardo walked away. Slimer tried to shake hands with Eduardo but ended up sliming him. Eduardo tossed Slimer but the spud knocked Kylie's book aside then slammed into a wall. Kylie was annoyed a priceless book was slimed. Slimer tossed the book in his mouth and "cleaned" it for Kylie. Eduardo grabbed the book, "Galileo and His Studies of Medieval Poltergeists" and chalked it up as a waste of time. Kylie defended herself and stated it would be informative to read up on the paranormal. She then asked Eduardo if he bothered reading. Eduardo quickly asserted he did. As the others mocked him, Eduardo countered on-the-job experience mattered more. Egon stepped in and informed the team there was a call from the Metropolitan Museum. There was a massive ecto-ethereal disturbance. Garrett reveled in the news. At the museum, Eduardo scanned the scorched artwork while Roland and Kylie spoke to the security guard from last night. He was still visibly shaken up and managed to recount the demon spitting fire and it taking Bobby away. Garrett got a P.K.E. reading off the statue the thief bumped into. Garrett took a closer look at the display and read the statue was a depiction of Kahlil, the ancient demon god. Roland turned back to the guard and tried to confirm if Bobby picked something up from the ground. Kylie asked him to describe it. The guard remembered it was a tile with weird markings on it. Kylie deduced it was rune. Garrett quickly asked if the implication was touching this rune got the guard kidnapped by a demon. Kylie was more concerned if there were more runes or not. The guard then remembered the thief had a pouch in his hand. The thief, named Rifkin, was at Bruno's Pawn Shop trying to sell the pouch. Bruno the broker wasn't buying the thief's pitch. The thief asserted they were valuable antiquities. Bruno offered $10. The thief was outraged at the price. Bruno picked up a rune, paused, and made the same offer. As the thief flipped out, another portal opened and the same demon grabbed Bruno stating he was chosen. Bruno tried to convince the demon to take the thief. The demon declared the thief was the Keeper of the Runes and held the power to summon, not to be summoned. The portal closed once more. The thief realized he had something very powerful. The Ghostbusters drove around in Ecto-1 but weren't getting any readings. Garrett looked around through an Ecto-Periscope then got a "mondo" reading from Bruno's Pawn Shop. Rifkin walked down an alley and was grabbed by two thugs. Their boss, Mr. Hammer, strolled down and reminded Rifkin of a debt he owed. Rifkin held out the pouch and gave all three a rune. The demon appeared again and tossed one thug into the portal. Rifkin cheered on the demon but it took it as mockery. Mr. Hammer and the other thug ran off. Rifkin ran off in the opposite direction. The demon caught up to Hammer and the thug in the street. Ecto-1 arrived and the Ghostbusters drew their throwers on the demon. Garrett rolled out and grandstanded everyone. The others shot the demon but it breathed fire at them. The demon grabbed Kylie but realized she was not chosen then threw her onto an awning. The Ghostbusters confined the demon again and Kylie threw out a Trap. However, the demon overpowered the trap vortex and escaped capture. He entered a portal and teleported to Hammer and the thug. They arrived in a demon dimension and met Kahlil. Kahlil announced the burning stench present was that of 1000 souls. He declared they were summoned by the cursed power of the runes to be his slaves. Kahlil blasted at them with his staff and laughed. Back at the Firehouse, Janine made a diagram on the New York Map of all known disappearances. All were in the southern tip of Manhattan, in the downtown area. In the office, Kylie looked over books while Garrett wondered aloud why she was spared by the demon, the Messenger of Kahlil. Kylie ignored Eduardo's joke and revealed she figured it out thanks to "Pagan Rituals & Ceremonies." She explained he wasn't one of the 13 chosen ones from a pagan festival that took place in ancient Iceland once every 13 years. 13 people were always sacrificed to Kahlil. Garrett recognized the name from the statue at the Metropolitan Museum. Kylie went on and revealed each chosen one touched a rune and was transported to Kahlil's dimension where they were permanently enslaved to the demon god, never to return to the earthly plane. Garrett mused their next move was to identify the thief. Roland announced the thief was named Steve Rifkin. He and Egon went back to the museum and got a VHS tape of the perimeter security camera. Everyone went up to the rec room and watched the tape. Egon revealed he and Roland checked around with locals who were able to identify Rifkin. However, nobody knew where he lived. Egon asked Janine to hack into the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) computer and find an address. Janine was about to comply but questioned if that was legal. Everyone promised they wouldn't tell on her. Janine sighed and went off to hack the database. Elsewhere in the city, Rifkin visited a newspaper stand and read about "strange disappearances" but his gloating was interrupted by the vendor's loud radio. Rifkin asked the vendor to turn it down but he turned the volume up instead. Rifkin left him a rune. The vendor picked it up and mistook it for Canadian money. The Messenger appeared in the stand and grabbed the vendor. The Extreme Ghostbusters arrived at Rifkin's apartment and knocked on the door. Rifkin asked if they had a warrant. As Roland tried to reason with him, they all heard a window shatter. Garrett blasted the locks off and knocked the door down. Kylie and Eduardo looked out the window and saw Rifkin running down the fire escape. Roland and Garrett ran back to Ecto-1. Kylie jumped out the window then grabbed Eduardo by the goatee. They chased Rifkin down an alley. Rifkin jumped a fence then Kylie. As Eduardo jumped, he stepped in some garbage. Rifkin ran down to a subway station and boarded the IRT as it headed downtown. Eduardo and Kylie forced their way in and continued chasing Rifkin. Rifkin tossed a rune out and Eduardo caught it. The IRT stopped and Rifkin ran up to 42nd street. The Messenger appeared and grabbed Eduardo. Kylie grabbed a hold of Eduardo's legs but the demon swatted her off. Up above, Garrett spotted Rifkin and gave chase. Garrett grabbed a broom from a grocer and tossed it between Rifkin's legs. Garrett caught up and grabbed Rifkin by the collar. Eduardo amused Kahlil enough that the demon god assigned him to transcribe and catalog every manuscript in the library of pain. Eduardo looked over the cliff and saw an endless abyss filled with stacks of books. Back at the Firehouse, Kylie found an ancient incantation capable of neutralizing Kahlil from the "Magic of the Runes." But it had be invoked in the demon dimension. Garrett asked how they were going there. Roland presented the tied up Rifkin. Rifkin tried to dissuade them from touching his property. Slimer flew by and taped Rifkin's mouth shut. Roland continued explaining his plan. Someone would touch the last rune and the Messenger would appear as usual. Egon walked into the office with Proton Packs. Garrett reiterated the packs were useless against the Messenger. Egon informed them he fine tuned the packs to the demon's exact P.K.E. coordinates. As Janine strapped on a pack, she wondered about the portal closing. Egon theorized if the Messenger were trapped, then the portal should stay open. Garrett worried about all the "shoulds" in this plan. They all stared at the rune. Roland held his arm out then hesitated. Egon was about to touch the rune then Roland grabbed it. The portal opened and the Ghostbusters blasted the Messenger. Kylie tossed out a Trap and opened it. While Egon and Janine finished capturing the Messenger, the others broke off and ran into the portal. They arrived in the demon dimension but quickly discovered their equipment didn't work. Kahlil blasted Garrett with his staff and blew him into his library of pain. Eduardo found Garrett and was actually happy to see him. Kahlil forced Kylie and Roland to bow. Roland realized Kahlil planned to eat them. Kylie reminded Roland they both couldn't move. The incantation was in her pocket and she didn't memorize it. As Kahlil moved them to his open mouth, Kylie recited the incantation but couldn't remember the last line. Eduardo spoke the last line and saved them. Kahlil paused and strained. He fell to the ground and dissolved. All of the chosen were freed from their restraints. Eduardo revealed he stumbled upon the incantation in the library. Garrett noticed the portal was blinking. Roland directed everyone to quickly run to the portal. Garrett and Eduardo were last and exchanged last minute quips as they jumped into the portal. Quotes Trivia *This episode is based on the 1911 M. R. James story "Casting the Runes" and its 1957 movie variants "Night of the Demon" from the UK and "Curse of the Demon" for the USA. **This episode and the films share the concept that a cursed item (Night of the Demon it was a parchment paper) which upon discovery curses the "Chosen one" (both use the same term) and a demon visits. Extreme Ghostbusters however differs with the movie as the Demon comes to kill the chosen one, while in this EGB episode the demon takes the person to Kahlil's Dimension. *Eduardo loses to Slimer at a game of chess. *Roland references CliffsNotes, a popular series of student study guides.Roland Jackson (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Casting the Runes (1997) (DVD ts. 3:39). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Roland says: "CliffsNotes." *Kylie consults three books in the episode: "Galileo and his Studies of Medieval Poltergeist," "Pagan Rituals & Ceremonies," and "Magic of the Runes." *Garrett refers to the statue of Kahlil as Venus de Milo, a famous ancient Greek statue.Garrett Miller (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Casting the Runes (1997) (DVD ts. 4:15-4:16). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Garrett says: "Getting some major flux off of Venus de Milo here." *Garrett refers to Kahlil's dimension as Never Never Land, a fictitious island from J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan franchise.Garrett Miller (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Casting the Runes (1997) (DVD ts. 4:29-4:32). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Garrett says: "That because he touched this rune, the guard got whisked away to Never Never Land?" *Rifkin sold Bruno stolen Rolex watches in the past.Bruno the Pawn Broker (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Casting the Runes (1997) (DVD ts. 4:44-4:45). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Bruno says: "I can't use no more hot Rolexes." *Kylie and Eduardo chase Rifkin into the IRT subway heading downtown. The IRT is the Interborough Rapid Transit company. *Egon refers to and quotes Peter Venkman, "We zap him and trap him."Egon Spengler (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Casting the Runes (1997) (DVD ts. 15:20-15:23). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Egon says: "And then, as Venkman used to say, "We zap him and trap him."." *Eduardo refers to Henry Rollins while finishing the incantation that defeats Kahlil.Eduardo Rivera (2009). Extreme Ghostbusters- Casting the Runes (1997) (DVD ts. 19:21-19:23). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Eduardo says: "Catchy. I mean it's not Rollins." Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, spoken word artist, writer, publisher, actor, radio DJ, and activist. *Kahlil raves that "You have meddled with the primordial forces, and you shell pay!" which sounds somewhat like what Arthur Jensen said when he yells at Howard Beale in the 1976 movie Network: "And YOU have meddled with the primal forces of nature. And you will atone.". References Gallery Episode Screen Caps CastingTheRunes01.jpg|Guards find Rifkin CastingTheRunes03.jpg|Steve makes a discovery CastingTheRunes02.jpg|A demon arrives CastingTheRunes04.jpg|Bobby is nabbed CastingTheRunes07.jpg|Off duty hours CastingTheRunes09.jpg|Slimer wins CastingTheRunes10.jpg|Eduardo mocks Kylie CastingTheRunes16.jpg|Eduardo deflects CastingTheRunes17.jpg|On the job experience CastingTheRunes05.jpg|Garrett gets a P.K.E. reading CastingTheRunes06.jpg|A big clue CastingTheRunes18.jpg|Rifkin tries to deal CastingTheRunes19.jpg|Demon grabs Bruno CastingTheRunes08.jpg|Ecto-1's periscope CastingTheRunes20.jpg|Keep Scanning CastingTheRunes24.jpg|Old Friends CastingTheRunes11.jpg|Steve runs into "associates" CastingTheRunes27.jpg|Mr. Hammer ain't happy CastingTheRunes29.jpg|Payback CastingTheRunes30.jpg|Ghostbusters arrive CastingTheRunes31.jpg|Gung ho Garrett CastingTheRunes32.jpg|Kylie's in trouble CastingTheRunes33.jpg|Too risky to shoot CastingTheRunes12.jpg|Kylie ain't chosen CastingTheRunes34.jpg|Rejected CastingTheRunes13.jpg|Messenger escapes Trap CastingTheRunes35.jpg|Great idea... CastingTheRunes14.jpg|Kahlil's realm CastingTheRunes15.jpg|Janine preps map CastingTheRunes60.jpg|Kylie interjects CastingTheRunes36.jpg|Kylie finds something CastingTheRunes37.jpg|Egon and Roland return CastingTheRunes38.jpg|3 pm; reviewing security tape CastingTheRunes21.jpg|Dead end CastingTheRunes22.jpg|Hacking for Egon CastingTheRunes39.jpg|Lips are sealed CastingTheRunes23.jpg|Senator Conroy Scandal! CastingTheRunes40.jpg|Turn that down CastingTheRunes41.jpg|Vendor is chosen CastingTheRunes42.jpg|Rifkin gets away CastingTheRunes43.jpg|Kylie grabs Eduardo CastingTheRunes44.jpg|Rifkin gets on IRT CastingTheRunes45.jpg|Messenger comes for Eduardo CastingTheRunes46.jpg|Garrett gets Rifkin CastingTheRunes47.jpg|Roland's idea CastingTheRunes48.jpg|Slimer pitches in CastingTheRunes49.jpg|Suiting up CastingTheRunes50.jpg|The last rune CastingTheRunes59.jpg|The 13th is chosen CastingTheRunes51.jpg|Messenger arrives CastingTheRunes25.jpg|Ghostbusters open fire CastingTheRunes52.jpg|Kahlil ejects Garrett CastingTheRunes53.jpg|Happy to see Garrett CastingTheRunes54.jpg|Kahlil opens wide CastingTheRunes26.jpg|Incantation works CastingTheRunes55.jpg|Saved by Eduardo CastingTheRunes28.jpg|Reduced to skeleton CastingTheRunes56.jpg|The Chosen are free CastingTheRunes57.jpg|Roland directs CastingTheRunes58.jpg|More banter Collages and Edits MetropolitanMuseumofArtinCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' MessengerofKahlilinCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' GhostbustersinCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' PKESweepFromEcto1inCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' GhostbustersinCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage2.png|''(For full size Click here)'' SteveRifkininCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' MessengerofKahlilinCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage2.png|''(For full size Click here)'' KahlilsDimensioninCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage.png|''(For full size Click here)'' KahlilsDimensioninCastingtheRunesepisodeCollage2.png|''(For full size Click here)'' Category:EGB Episode